A Working Progress
by Orchard94
Summary: "So, what's your next class?" Delly smiles at me, breaking me out of my inner ramblings. Damn I did it again… "Umm… it says Art in this box…am I reading this right?"...Delly gently laughs it off and instantly I feel at ease. "Its ok let me see…hmm… yeah, you do. Oh that's Peeta's class!" Who is this Peeta?... A Peeta Mellmark and OC. M for later lemons.
1. Chapter 1

Its times like these that I wish my mind would just focus on a single thing or simply shut off. Here I am just trying to smile and nod and my science partners weekend tirades but I can't stop thinking about how my little brothers are handling their first week at school.

I can literally feel how idiotic I look….

My brothers and I are originally from District 10, but when our Mum died our father went a little mad and killed himself and we couldn't stay there with memories like those looming over us. Yes, I say father….Dad implies a man who cares for his children and loves them unconditionally. His name was Brian, he wasn't a completely bad guy, don't get me wrong, I suppose he taught me how to be strong and he was well respected in our community. He disliked children, unknown to Mum and he only had us with her because she wanted children….he adored her completely; we were just the hassle he endured to show his love and please her.

My Mum was named Ann and she on the other hand was the most giving, affectionate and kind mother any child could ask for. She looked a lot like me except she was so much more beautiful….she was my idol in every way. She died saving my father from one of the bulls we tended back in District 10, he was distracted yelling at me for not trying harder to get in the 'higher society' of our district…..basically he heard the Mayors son asked me on a date and I declined, this was a disgusting thing to my father who was always one for statuses. Anyway whilst he was distracted slapping me across the face for my despicable deed he didn't notice the bull charging for him, he thought my shout was just a scream of pain.

It was a pain I was well adjusted too….

My Mum ran over and pushed him aside and was trampled in front of mine and fathers eyes… I was devastated.

My older brother was away on a date that morning…..mother helped him with his hair and recommended sweet nothings he could tell his date, he was so embarrassed…..and my two younger brothers were at school, she and I made their lunches together today and I watched as she cut their sandwiches into the shape of a love-heart and placed her 'have a fun day my love' notes in each of their boxes. So many small signs of affection I took for granted without even realising it.

Every glorious memory I had and shared with my mother come flooding back as I watched her skull cave in under the bulls hoof.

I couldn't do anything.

I looked at my father who was breaking down, trying to piece the remains of my mum back together praying he'd wake up…and I simply dropped to my knees. I heard her voice in my head, felt her holding my hand, smelt her sweet honey scent, she was next to me telling me I needed to snap out of it, be strong and make her proud. I would.

Just not yet. I couldn't seem to feel any of my limbs in order to go comfort the man in front of me.

I didn't need to wait long for him to turn his attentions. He looked at me with so much pure emotion I had to shrink away from his gaze; I could feel where that look was heading….

The absolute grief and hate held within his dark eyes had me tensing my muscles ready for the impact sure to come, and it came with a bang. He strode over to me purposefully covered in my mother's blood…..

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT! YOU DISGUSTING PIECE OF SHIT!" Strike one followed suit….. "WHY COULD YOU NOT JUST LEAVE ME ALONE TO WORK! I COULD HAVE HANDLED THAT FUCKING BULL! BUT NO YOU JUST HAD TO COME DOWN HERE AND BEG FOR SOME WORK….YOU WORTHLESS FUCKING…." He seemed to have forgotten that he dragged me down here to clean out the muck and tend to the pregnant cow we owned. There was also no begging involved, he demanded I drop out of school to help him so he could spend more time with mum since I was very good with the animals, being with him made mother happy, I would never had denied her that…so I did. But this seems to leak from his mind as he was beating on me.

His insults became quiet murmurs in my ears although the village could probably hear him with how loud he screamed at me. I just silently let the tears flow down my cheeks and took the beating he gave. Each strike harder than the last. I felt my lower lip bust and could fell my nose was bleeding heavily, yet I felt nothing, I was numb outside and the only agony I felt was in my heart. This was fathers' way of dealing with it then so be it, he didn't have her talk to him after she left her body and I did.

Ha, she loved me more arsehole…..

When he calmed down he told me to help me bury her, made me carry my own mothers' limp and distorted body to the place they met. After a 10 minutes' walk we arrived and began digging a grave for her, well I did whilst he sat there cradling her. Once she was in the ground he went to change and tell the authorities of her death so I didn't see him for a while. I cleaned myself up too because with that man gone I would be left to break the news to my brothers.

I was the most heart-breaking thing I have ever seen and hope ever will see in my life. I waited until all three of my brothers returned. I had to bat away their initial concerns over my injuries and I told them everything. Their cries were heart wrenching and I joined them in mourning our beautiful mother. I then took them to the place she was buried and watched with my older brother holding me as our younger siblings decorated her grave with small delicate flowers, tears rolling down their faces as they did so.

My big brother decided to stay and talk to mum for a while so I took the boys home and put them to bed, singing them mummy's lullaby as they fell into s deep sleep.

I walked into our small garden and saw my father standing there, liquor in hand. His last slurred words to me were "those kids in there were you mothers pride and joy, you better fucking take care of them girl…..especially after you caused all this…." With that message of blame and obligation he smashed the bottom of the bottle and stabbed himself in the temple. Ultimately killing himself to be with his love again.

As you would probably guess, here is where I broke down. I had seen both my parents die that day in two gruesome and horrific ways. My brother walked in at this point to see me hyperventilating and spent the next three hours attempting to get me out of my stupor and to calm down. Eventually I did remembering my mum's words to be brave and I carried another one of my parents bodies to their resting place where they lay side my side to this day.

My brothers couldn't look at anything without a memory hurting them so I decided to move that day. My older brother agreed and he found a job in District 12 that night as a butcher, coming from a farming district it wasn't too hard for him and was accepted right away to start in a week.

It's been two weeks since that traumatic day. I'm ashamed that my father would wait to give me those haunting last words before he took that coward's way out. Not because of what he said but because what if one of the children came down at that moment and witnessed that; another show of how little he cared. The kids weren't as upset over our father's death as they saw how much he hit me. I was the girl that needed toughening up you see. My older brother Daniel was old enough to fight back and would have, and I threatened to tell mum if he laid a finger on the lilttlens. But it was still a lot to lose two parents in less than 36 hours.

We sold our house, land and livestock so we have a healthy sum of money to live on without much struggle and we now live in the cloudy district 12. The boys seem to be doing better here, a lot better than expected.

Matthew, who has just turned 10 can finally sleep without me curled beside him and George, who is 13, can now look at our parents wedding photo with only a few silent tears falling instead of a complete crying session. I can still hear them whimpering at night…this is always my cue to go and sing my mother's lullaby.

All this is what has led me up to today, trying to focus on my first day at school (due to Daniels persistence) and not letting anyone see any of the pain I'm feeling. The last thing I need is to be the new girl and be called the emo or something. The girl I am walking with now is my new science partner who has to get me up to speed on things as the school thinks I'm an idiot because I dropped out.

_Actually, no, you stupid judgemental school, Daniel home schooled me when he had the time…stupid school treating me like I'm 9…urgh._

Anyway, she is a very sweet and bubbly girl so I am trying to laugh at the right times and am smiling through her ramblings. Her name is Delly and I am hoping she'll stick near me until I'm comfortable enough to walk around on my own. The stares are piercing.

"So, what's your next class?" Delly smiles at me, breaking me out of my inner ramblings. _Damn I did it again…_

"Umm… it says Art in this box…am I reading this right?" _Way to sound intelligent you clown…I need to get my crap together and prove myself after today and I can't even understand a damn timetable!_

Delly gently laughs it off and instantly I feel at ease. "Its ok let me see…hmm… yeah, you do. Oh that's Peeta's class!"

_Who is this Peeta?..._

"That's perfect! I was dreading leaving you alone to fend for yourself" she jokes with a wink "Peeta is really nice and he'll look after you this lesson. OK?" she asks me with that megawatt smile.

"I don't want to be a hassle Delly…" I try to protest but she cuts me off.

"There is no hassle involved at all, you look like you could use a friend."She says softly. I try to swallow the lump in my throat and beat back the tears forming in my eyes; she has no idea how right she is. I genuinely smile this time and nod my head gratefully as she motions the direction we need to go.

We stop in front of a light blue, glossy door with a laminated piece of card stating that this is the 'Art and Design' room. I am suddenly nervous about entering here and Delly gently squeezes my hand for comfort.

"Ok, we're here." She says "I am going to quickly come in and introduce you to Peeta before I go to languages and I'll meet you at this very spot afterwards OK?" She looked me in the eye the entire time as she spoke and I can feel her words are filled with genuine concern and care, so I nod and smile.

"Good! Now let's go meet Peeta!" Delly laughs as she opens that blue door….


	2. Chapter 2

**This is my first fan fic with my own characters so please, reviews would be very helpful. Thanks **

**I do not own the Hunger Games or its characters. I own my ideas and OCs , that's all.**

**Now whats waiting behind that door?...**

Before I know it I'm being hauled into a classroom full of now silent students…outside it seemed much louder in here_… but hey,I guess you can't talk whilst ogling a girl you hardly know…_

"OK GUYS, SHOWS OVER! YOU MAY PROCEED WITH YOUR DAILY GOSSIP!" Delly rather loudly exclaims. "You know maybe if you weren't so beautifully exotic looking they wouldn't stare so much" Delly mumbles casually. I just stare at her wide eyed, gaping like a fish and she simply bursts into laughter at my expression I'm guessing.

"Jeez Dell, you're not even in this class and you still feel the need to make your presence known" rumbles a deep voice behind me, you can hear the smile in his voice when he spoke. However I was not prepared for the sudden closeness of the voice and so I jumped right out my skin, practically onto Dellys lap.

"Hey! Careful dude…Hey, bread boy" Delly laughs whilst standing me up straight.

"Sorry, wasn't expecting someone to be behind me…" I smile sheepishly at her and then peer through my lashes to see who that delicious voice belonged too.

I wish I didn't.

I have never seen a more perfect creature in all my life. This 'bread boy' was a bit taller than me, around 5'10''. He was built with defined muscle, not overly bulky, but you could clearly see he was strong and toned, especially with the way his white t-shirt hugged his chest and the way his worn jeans hugged his thighs gently..._How the hell could someone make old jeans look so damn delectable…T_then I reached his face.

There are no words to adequately describe the beauty of this man. His floppy golden curls that hung low on his forehead, his chiselled jaw that still managed to maintain some of its boyish charm, his full lips that stretched into a smile of those perfect pearly whites and I'm pretty sure all the air left my body when I came across his eyes.

I stared at those glorious blue orbs for a matter of seconds and I felt at home. I saw something flash in them but I didn't get a chance to make it out as he started speaking to Delly.

"So who is our new friend here then?" Bread boy asks Delly who looks at me to answer.

His eyes turn to me and I put on my big girl undies and snap out of the daydream those eyes had put me in.

"Willow, Willow Glade….I;m new to the school" I say with a smile and small wave.

Bread boys grin widens and is about to reply when Delly cuts in…_Damn her, I wanted to hear that voice again…_

"This, my beautiful Willow tree, is the lovely Peeta who I was saying would look after you this lesson…" she states looking pointedly at Peeta.

"Of course I will Willow, you can come sit with me" he chuckles.

Delly starts speaking again when I am about to thank him…_I will kill this girl…_

"Now before I go and have a nap in Languages, I shall give a brief list of conversational don'ts…." She says and I chuckle as she clears her throat.

"Do not talk about each other's families, you both seem to have issues there…." My mouth is agape at this moment…_How the heck does she know that?!_… "Don't tell Peeta what a huge slut his girlfriend is and how he deserves so much better than her used up ass…" she states nonchalantly. I look at Peeta and he just rolls his eyes. Clearly they are close and this is a discussion that happens often. I'm in shock that such violent words came out of Delly's innocent looking mouth to be honest…S_he much really dislike this girl._

"Delly she is not a…." Peeta begins.

"Oh! Shh Peeta and look in that damn corridor!" Delly whisper yells, cutting him off. I follow the two sets of eyes to the corridor and see a rather pretty, athletic looking girl leaning against a locker with a stocky blond haired boy hovering rather intimately over her frame and she was giggling flirtatiously at something he said.

"Oh look who it is, Katniss and Cato leaning by the locking in a purely platonic friendly manner..." Delly says dryly looking over at Peeta whose mildly clenching his jaw.

The girl Katniss, the girlfriend I presume, sees us staring and her eyes dart to Peeta. She strains a smile and delicately removes her body from underneath this Cato's who simply smirks and winks at me and walks away from the scene.

_Gross…._

"Hey Pete!" Katniss says as she flings herself at Peeta, this makes my blood boil but I don't know why. _Must be because she's disrespecting Peeta….thats it_. Peeta returns the hug with effort and cringes a little at the pet name she has given him.

"So what's this?" Katniss asks with a glare. I see Peeta's face harden slightly although I am not sure why and in the corner of my eye I see Delly's red face_._

_That girls going to burst if I don't say something soon._

"I am not a what; I am a who, thank you very much. If you're looking for my name it is Willow" I say with a raised eyebrow "You must be Katniss, Peetas girlfriend" I only say this to save face and not make things between me and my potential new male friend awkward. With animals you need to state in some way you know their territory and possessions. The same logic seems to apply here as her glare turns from disgust to one of contempt. _Still cold but hey, she means less than dirt to me so I won't complain._

"Humph, whatever" Katniss dismisses me and turns to Peeta giving him a rather inappropriate kiss in the middle of the class. Clearly staking her claim on him to me…._seriously…_ I can hear the wolf whistles and whoops coming from around the class and I giggle softly at their antics. This earns me a wink from a rather handsome guy with curious green eyes sitting near the front of the class. My giggle seems so break Peeta out of the haze that settles over him and he is blushing as red as a tomato.

"Bye Petie" she drawls as she saunters away.

I turn to Delly who I can tell is trying to kill Katniss with her eyes. "Is she serious?!" I whisper.

"Oh yeah" she replies. "The only moron who can't see it is bread boy over there." She looks sad by this and I wonder iF she has feelings for Peeta.

"I'll tell you all about it another time OK? I have got to get to class." She says.

"OK sure, enjoy your nap" I reply. She smiles and giggles at me, trying to impersonate Katniss' walk away with a more dramatic flair which has me in stiches.

Peeta is the one staring at me curiously now which makes me blush. He was probably waiting for me as I was laughing_…oops…._He smiles at me softly and tilts his head. I step towards him timidly.

"So, where do we sit?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Should I do some Peeta POVs too? Hmm…**

**I don't own HG..**

Peeta is still staring at me strangely as our teacher walks in. I laugh awkwardly to ease a little of the tension I'm beginning to feel. Since he still hasn't replied, I walk over to the only free table in the classroom, presuming this will be our place. As I pass Peeta he snaps back to reality and starts to blush again.

"Sorry about that" he mumbles shyly.

I giggle softly at this side of him and decide this is a time called for teasing. "Oh Peeta! You have returned from LaLa Land then? I was starting to wonder when you'd return to me"

I have just realised what I said…_Oh bugger…_

Peeta just smirks at me with a raised eyebrow as we take our seats. _So much for me being the one to tease._

"Good afternoon everyone. I trust your weekends were eventful considering the noise you were all making when I entered the room." The teacher's voice directs my attention to the front of the class and I am surprised by what I see.

Our teacher is a rather young, handsome man. I remember my teachers, before I left school, all being rather large all round, a little scruffy and quite unattractive. This man however was the opposite. He has a flawless, light mocha complexion and a mop of thick dark brown, near black hair carefully gelled into casual disarray. His black tie was loose and his sleeves on his white shirt were neatly rolled up to just below his elbows; displaying two rather impressive forearms whilst his shirt was smartly tucked into his black trousers.

_Not bad…not bad at all…_

"Now I'm pretty sure we are gaining a new student today so when they arrive…" The teacher begins before he is interrupted by the handsome green eyed boy from earlier.

"Actually Mr C, she's already in the class. And before you say 'I want you to all behave', please don't. That, my friend is the one thing I don't wanna do with her." The boy says, grinning broadly at me when he sees my parted lips and deep blush.

_Oh my god….did he just say that…to a teacher?!_

I look over to Peeta, a threat for any comments on the tip of my tongue when I see him glaring at the boy and I look back over to the owner of the green eyes and laugh. He has his hands up in a mock surrender to Peeta and he waves at me with one of his raised hands.

_So he's that guy huh. Well two can play that game._

I'm conjuring up some witty retorts for future use when the teacher snaps me back out my thoughts.

"Really Finnick, that's your line." He asks sarcastically with a smile, leaving who I guess is Finnick scowling playfully. After the class stops giggling from the teachers witty comment he tells them all to retrieve their sketchbooks with their homework and he walks over to speak to me.

"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't notice you when I walked in. It was very rude of me" he says. I reply with a simple "It's no problem Sir" with a smile and he softly laughs.

"The only time you need to call me 'Sir' is when were in front of my superiors OK? I like to think of my class as my extended family so please, call me Cinna" Cinna's eyes are extremely welcoming and open and I feel very comfortable in his presence. I notice that the only thing unusual about this man is the thin golden strip of eyeliner on his upper eyelids. _All art teachers tend to have some kind of quirk, it suits him well though. _"OK Cinna" I reply.

He beams at me. "Good, now that's sorted why don't you tell me about you" he asks whilst pulling up and empty stool and the class begins to quietly chatter amongst themselves.

"Well my name is Willow. I'm originally from District 10 and I moved here around two weeks ago with my three brothers. I dropped out of school when I was around 12 and I have never done art as a lesson before. One random but important fact about me is I love cheese, if I have it, don't touch unless offered or you may lose your arm" I return.

"OK. Got it. No touching of cheese." He chuckles. "What about your parents?"

My whole body goes rigid at the topic, bracing itself for the onslaught of emotions. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly and hold my breath to restrain the tears I can feel brewing. I hear voices around me but I'm too busy trying to hold myself together to bother listening to what they are saying.

_Be strong. Be strong. Be strong…_Is the mantra I keep repeating in my head.

I can feel someone pulling me to stand and leading me somewhere. I'm not sure where though because I am not quite calm enough to open my eyes. I hear a door close and I am dragged around a few more corners before I stop and am pulled into a pair of strong, muscular arms. It takes me all of a few seconds to return this persons embrace. I inhale their soft cinnamon scent and work on calming my heart rate. A few minutes pass and this person still holding me firmly and is now also tracing small circles on my back. I focus on this small action and it makes my heart jump, though not through pain, and distracts me from the memories of my parent's deaths.

Once I feel like myself again I reluctantly uncurl myself from my saviours hug in order to thank whoever it was, their hold loosened but did not completely release me. I looked up to see their face and was greeted by a pair of empathetic blue eyes.

My soother was Peeta.

"Hi" he says sympathetically.

"Hey" I reply staring at feet.

"Family-conversational don't" he says lightly and I give him a slight smile. "Thank you for that, really."

"Don't mention it. Come on, we should get back" he says looking into my surely puffy eyes.

This is when I notice we are still entwined in each other's arms. I blush and he laughs softly as he releases me. He takes my hand and leads us back to the classroom.

**Sorry if my story seems a bit long winded, it does get better I promise **** Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I decided to try a bit of Peetas POV. If you don't like it then just say and I stick to Willow, I just thought I'd give it a go.**

**On with the story…**

_Peetas POV:_

Finally…Art.

Today has dragged for so long I'm just glad to have a lesson I can breathe in. Release all this tension onto a blank canvas and create something good from it. Honestly I'm not sure why I feel so tense. I had two of my morning lessons with Katniss this morning, I should be elated. I remember a time when I would try and change my schedule just so I could be near her, yet now I'm happy to get away? What the hell is the matter with me…?

_Maybe it's because the first lesson you shared with Katniss she completely ignored you to chat away to Glimmer and the second she sat next to Marvel with her hands 'in her lap'. Ha! Who are you trying to fool, did you see Marvels face, her hands were obviously wandering in…_

No! That thought has got to stop right there! Not real Peeta…_or maybe real…_

Urgh! OK. I just need to focus on something else. _Where are those canvases?...Ah ha!_

I look over to the front left corner of the art room and see the various sizes of clean square canvases and begin to walk over to them when a hand clamps down on my shoulder.

"Peeta!" I smile when I heard that rugged voice. There's only one guy I know who could sound so manly yet so much like a child. I turn and face one of my best friends Finnick Odair, green eyes are sparkling excitedly which could only mean one thing.

"What have you got to share this time Fin?" He takes a dramatic breath and I laugh at the big show for this most likely trivial piece of gossip.

"There is a new girl in school!" he says happily.

"Really?!... That build up for that? Finnick we've known that a new student form 10 was coming for a week now. Why are you so excited about it?" I ask with a grin. This guy never fails to lift my mood.

"Peet! Have you seen her! There is no way she from District 10 with the way she looks. I mean DAMN! What I wouldn't do to…" he starts. This is also a thought I don't need to be completed today.

"OK! Please for the love of god, keep the rest of that sentence to yourself. I do not need to know." I say, feigning a mortified expression for his benefit. Always the one for bad humour.

I get my desired effect when he bursts into fits of laughter. "Oh Peeta! Your hopeless man.." he chuckles.

"Hey fellas" enters a new voice. Another voice I know well. The musical ring this voice holds hardly matches the loud personality of its owner, another good friend of mine. Miss Johanna Mason.

"Yo! Fin. So tell me, got any crabs yet from your 'erotic' escapades? Oh you too Peeta, Katniss actually opened her legs for you the way she does for everyone else yet?" Johanna asks casually as she sits down at her and Finnicks desk. I look to Finnick and can practically see the wheels in his head turning fir a witty comeback. I just roll my eyes and force a laugh. How can such a bell-like voice belong to that humour?

_See…other people are all thinking the same thing Peeta. She just wants to break you too…_

I can feel my anxiety rising and my mood lowering rapidly with where my thoughts were heading. All my other classmates are now in the classroom talking amongst themselves. I suddenly don't feel like painting and start to travel over to my desk when I hear the creak of the door open.

That creak is literally all I hear. The entire class has silenced. At first I think maybe it's just me tuning everyone out but then…

""OK GUYS, SHOWS OVER! YOU MAY PROCEED WITH YOUR DAILY GOSSIP!" Ahh, the all-round sweetness that is Delly Cartwright. I turn to greet my other best friend when I see her.

She's is about 5 ft. 5''s worth of a curvaceous beauty. She's not thin; she has an elegant hour-glass figure with just the perfect amount of cushion covering her body. She is wearing faded jeans that fit snuggly around her thighs in a sinful manner, that flare out slightly as they reach just below her ankles, showing a clearly favoured pair on white converses. I drag my eyes away from the temptation of her legs and travel up her shapely figure. She is wearing a dull, sunset orange crocheted jumper that shows a teasing slice of the soft skin of her flat, tanned stomach.

_My favourite colour…._

Then I reach what can only be compared to as the face of an angel. She has natural tan, further showing off her flawless olive skin tone. She and soft curves to her round face and huge doe like eyes. She was gaping at Delly about something, showing a taste of that delicate pink tongue…

"Peeta?!" Finnick says loudly. He grins broadly and gives me the nod of approval and thumbs up. Clearly asking my opinion of this Aphrodite that just entered the class. I just smile, shake my head and look away. He can take what he likes from that.

_Snap out of it Peeta. You have Katniss now…_

This girl just turned my brain into mush without even looking at me! Breathe Peeta. Breathe. Since the only spare seat in the room is the one next to mine I'm guessing we will be sitting together so I may as well introduce myself now.

_Pfft! Yeah that's the reason…. _Yes, yes of course it is.

I don't know why I feel so nervous all of a sudden so I decide to talk to Delly first, like the coward I am. "Jeez Dell, you're not even in this class and you still feel the need to make your presence known" I say as I walk around behind the girl into Delly's eye line.

I realise that I may have scared the new girl when she basically dives on top of Delly. I have to bite back a laugh at her expression. I doubt scaring a girl out of her wits then laughing at her is going to get me in her good graces. _Why do I want to be in her good graces…?_

Delly however has no problem laughing at her.

"Hey! Careful dude…Hey, bread boy" she giggles. I simply role my eyes at her nickname for me and smile. It's nice to see her making new friends, Delly has always been the eccentric type who will initially give everybody the time of day, they just don't usually give it back, so the scene before me was nice to see.

"Sorry, wasn't expecting someone to be behind me..." a soft husky voice chimes shyly, attracting my attention. My eyes settle on her and I can finally distinguish the colours of her eyes. She has deep hazel eyes with bight specks of green and gold. The kind of shimmer you would expect of an edited photo in a magazine. Apparently they change colour too as they darken slightly as she looks up at me. She moves her mahogany hair in front of her shoulder and when the light hits a thick lock I can see it claims a reddish hue, like a cherry. She licked her full lips as she took me in and quite a few… lets say sinful, things fluttered through my mind.

"So who is our new friend here then?" I ask tightly, focusing on the 'friend', more for my own benefit than anyone else's.

"Willow, Willow Glade….I'm new to the school" I smile wider at hearing speak agin more confidently. Her rustic voice echoing in my ears.

_Katniss. Oh yeah, I have a girlfriend…shit._

_Wait, what the hell am I thinking like this for?!… These feelings are not real…lapse in judgment. That's all this is, I mean I hardly know this girl…_

_**Ill do one more chapter of Peetas POV and you can tell me if you like **____** please review your thoughts.**_

_**Kaylee X**_


	5. Chapter 5

Peeta POV

I'm about to compliment her name, it's not like everyday I meet a Willow.

_Willow…._It just sounds so beautiful in my mind. _Snap out of it Peeta for crying out loud!_

Thankfully I am saved from my word vomit as Delly chimes in.

"This, my beautiful Willow tree, is the lovely Peeta who I was saying would look after you this lesson…" she gives me a look that says 'Don't fuck with me and do as your told'. Well I'm not about to argue about taking care of her. I mean she's new and will need a friend…right? Right.

"Of course I will Willow, you can come sit with me" Her name just sounds so perfect leaving my lips…I laugh lowly towards the floor at the stupid turn my thoughts are taking.

"Now before I go and have a nap in Languages, I shall give a brief list of conversational don'ts…." I know exactly where this is heading… "Do not talk about each other's families, you both seem to have issues there…." Well I didn't expect Delly to come out with that so casually. "Don't tell Peeta what a huge slut his girlfriend is and how he deserves so much better than her used up ass…" Ah! Here it is. At least once a day I have to put up with this speech from Delly. I love her with all my being but this crap seriously gets old.

"Delly she is not a…." I start to defend my girlfriend because that's what a guy is supposed to do right? But I can't finish as Delly cuts me off…

"Oh! Shh Peeta and look in that damn corridor!" she whispers to me heatedly. I look past Willow in the direction that Delly is staring and I see them. My 'girlfriend' is leaning with her back against the lockers with the school dickhead hovering over her, to close for any reassurance for myself. All I can do is stare when she giggles and I notice she puff out her chest further when she does so.

_Not real, not real, not real…_

"Oh look who it is, Katniss and Cato leaning by the locking in a purely platonic friendly manner..." Delly says to me sarcastically, looking at her nails. _Smug cow…. _All I can do is narrow my eyes at her.

Katniss finally notices us all looking at her and she tries to remove herself from Cato without signalling to us how close they actually were. It was far, far to close but I once again choose to ignore it. _Like the idiot you are…_

"Hey Pete!" Katniss squeals as she leaps into my arms. 'Pete' has never felt right coming from Katniss' mouth. It sounds cheap in the way she says it, like a rich pompous man referring to his mistress. For some reason this feels really uncomfortable…not right. I try and squash the feeling and return Katniss' flimsy embrace, somewhat awkwardly.

"So what's this?" Katniss sneers. I feel my muscles tighten at her hard tone and I'm pretty sure she does too from how she inches closer to me. She doesn't even know Willow, she has no right to judge her.

_You don't know her either my boy…_

I suppose this is true. I can't argue with it, the protectiveness I'm feeling is definitely irrational.

_Just push it aside Peeta. Not real…_

"I am not a what; I am a who, thank you very much. If you're looking for my name it is Willow" Willow replies in a sarcastically polite tone. After a pause she adds "You must be Katniss, Peetas girlfriend". Anyone else would think it was a simple and innocent response. I know better though and this brings a smirk to my face.

"Humph, whatever" Katniss mumbles and I am about to object to her tone when she turns and kisses me.

_Well this is different…_

Katniss grabs the collar of my shirt and pulls me towards her possessively. She pushes her lips onto mine forcefully and I can feel her tongue begging for entrance. I can't remember the last time Katniss initiated a kiss first, let alone one with this much passion, so naturally I allowed her tongue entrance. There's no point battling for dominance in this embrace, she will always win. So I let her take the lead, I can feel her tugging on my hair as her tongue swipes over my bottom lip. All I can do is bite back a groan when she nips it. I can feel my mind is going fuzzy again, This is what she does. She pushes me until I'm at my breaking point, then out of the blue she'll do something to remind me of the old Katniss, and I crawl back. It's a sad, draining circle that I can't seem to break free of.

A small giggle breaks me out of my haze of a passionate Katniss and the sound of the classroom whistling at me makes blood rush to my cheeks. I turn to see whose giggle brought me back to reality and I see a blushing Willow turning away from Finnick before I turn back to Katniss. She is looking at me strangely and I realise that it was me who broke the kiss, that doesn't usually happen. I tend to savour them as they don't come often, yet I broke away. She knows this too, I can see it in those shallow grey pools of hers.

"Bye Petie" Katniss drawls as she walks away, swinging her hips. Trying to get me to pay attention to her sex appeal again that was lost after the kiss ended. I don't pay much attention though, she never wanted a physical relationship with me, _Or emotional…_, so I've learnt to control my urges and repress them when it comes to her.

"OK sure, enjoy your nap" I hear Willow say from in front of me and I watch Delly leave the class, trying to swing her hips like Kaniss, except with a quirk only Delly could achieve. I chuckle under my breath and roll my eyes at her acting skills, or lack of when I hear a tiny snort come from Willow.

I tilt me head and examine her again. Her cheeks are flushed from her laughing at Delly._ At least somebody appreciates her antics…_

I don't understand how she does it, yet without a touch or a look I can feel my mind returning to a haze by just looking at her. She walks up to me and asks something, but I don't make out what it was. My brain has malfunctioned in the last few seconds and all I can think is what on earth is it about Willow Glade?...

**Ok well Peetas POV will have to extend into another chapter. I thought I would be shorter. **

**Its not.**

**Thanks for reading**

**Kaylee x**


	6. Chapter 6

**Im starting to like Peetas POV so I might keep alternating the views in the story.**

**Always good to have both sides don't you think?**

**Thanks for reading!**Peetas POV:

I'm looking into those deep butterscotch eyes and I can see something hidden within her. Something familiar to me, that I've seen looking back at me in the mirror everyday of my life.

Pain.

She buries it so well but the walls she is trying to form are not finished. Willow hasn't finished protecting her mind and heart fully yet, this much I can see. Where is her sadness coming from? More importantly, how can I fix it…?

Willow looks and me and shifts her feet on the spot but I am still staring at her, trying to dig deeper, figure out what else she is hiding. She begins to move past me and this is when I realise that I have been standing there looking at her like a fool. _Smooth…_

"Sorry about that" I mumble through my embarrassment.

"Oh Peeta! You have returned from LaLa Land then? I was starting to wonder when you'd return to me" she tries to tease. I don't pay attention to her attempts though, just the 'you' and 'me' that where involved in the sentence. By her blush I think she's noticed to. I simply give her a lopsided smirk and raise my eyebrow at her implication of 'us'.

_Oh Peeta, Peeta, Peeta… We both know you shouldn't be thinking like this…_

I ignore my thoughts though. I mean surely there's nothing wrong with teasing a friend? No, nothing at all.

"Good afternoon everyone. I trust your weekends were eventful considering the noise you were all making when I entered the room." I turn towards the head of the class and see my favourite teacher and confidant, Cinna. I smile as he begins to lecture the class about a new students arrival as he hasn't noticed that Willow has arrived yet until Finnick pipes up.

"Actually Mr C, she's already in the class. And before you say 'I want you to all behave', please don't. That, my friend is the one thing I don't wanna do with her." He turns to smile at Willow flirtatiously, I glance towards her too. Her lips are parted in amused shock and she's blushing furiously.

I'm not quite sure why this makes me both happy and angry, this feeling is confusing me. So instead of trying to figure it out I just send Finnick daggers at his immature comment. My friend holds his hands up in and exaggerated surrender and again smiles towards Willow. I huff as I know this is the most submission I'll ever get from Finnick. I quickly look at Willow again and smile. Shes clearly unaffected by Finnicks remarks and I can see an small, evil smile creeping to her lips. _I reckon they will make great friends…_Katniss could never not take Finnicks remarks seriously at first and after a while couldn't stand to be around him, at least that's the reason she said she wasn't seeing me as often anymore.

"Really Finnick, that's your line." I hear my teacher say and I turn to see a mildly wounded Finnick and I laugh along with the rest of my class at the comeback. Cinna has always had a great way of handling and dealing with his students. He treats them like people, individuals, family… He is like a second father to me. As weird as it is to say, he is my go to guy and I love him for it. He has been the one to tend to my wounds when I wasn't in any condition of being capable enough to look after myself. He's taken me to the hospitals when there was no way I could hide a certain injury and lets me crash at his house when I have been kicked out of mine. Most of all he has kept my secrets of home and never pry's for more than I'm willing to share. I would be devastated if I lost him. I love my father, I do and I know he loves me but he is a coward. He's never protected or cared for me the way Cinna has. I hate that I feel this way but I consider Cinna more of a dad than my biological one. Sad but true.

"OK. Got it. No touching of cheese." He chuckles. _What the hell are they talking about? _ "What about your parents?" I catch a quick glimpse of Willows eyes before they close tightly. In that millisecond I see all her walls she tried so hard to build crash down. _At least we've found out why she holds such agony in her eyes… her parents…_

Willows whole body has gone rigid and she's vibrating slightly. I know exactly why. She's trying desperately to keep her walls that she's worked so hard to craft together and is shutting herself down to do so. I look to Cinna with sad eyes. He looks back sympathetically; he has seen me do this numerous times and understands she needs a minute. He looks around the room and sees that no one has noticed their exchange and exhales in relief. Then he turns back to me.

"If she's anything like you Peeta she won't want to be seen breaking down in class, especially her first one..." Cinna looks at Willow sadly and pats her hand. It would be comforting but I doubt she can feel it. He looks into my eyes and I his, matching reflections of concern. "Take her outside and calm her down Peeta. Take as long as you need" he rises and pats my shoulder affectionately. I don't need to respond so I tug Willow out of her chair discreetly as Cinna diverts the classes' attention to him. Willow stiffly follows my lead with her eyes still closed tightly, with tears escaping despite her efforts.

I turn a few corners until I reach he corridor that has been closed off for decorating tomorrow. She stops when I stop pulling her. I stare at her for a second and I can see how emotionally broken she is.

Damaged.

Just like me. I hesitate for a second and then I think '_screw it'_ and pull her into my arms and hold her firmly. After a second she returns my embrace tightly and I can feel the silent sobs she releases tremble through her body. I just hold her tighter. Once a few minutes have past I can feel her breathe deeply against my chest and she holds my shirt low on my back tightly. I don't know why but this sends a jolt of pleasure through my body, I try and shake the feeling and focus on soothing her by rubbing tiny circles on her back with my index finger. I know it's working once her breathing begins to even out.

She pulls back slightly and looks up at me, she seems shocked to see me in front of her. I look down and he beautiful face, despite the slight redness from her quite sobs. All I can say is "Hi" quietly, looking into her eyes, trying to portray that she was not alone without any words.

"Hey" Willow replies, looking towards the floor. I can see she is ashamed of her breakdown, of seeming weak. But there is no reason to be, I saw the complete agony and devastation in her eyes and in my opinion she contains herself with the control on a saint. I was strangely proud. I decide a light tension breaker was necessary .

"Family-conversational don't" I say softly, reminding her of Dellys words, earning me a small smile.

"Thank you for that, really." She says faintly.

"Don't mention it. Come on, we should get back" I reply reluctantly.

I finally notice that she is still safely tucked away in my arms, fitting perfectly there and I laugh gently as she blushes. I take her hand, keeping the comforting contact with her and lead her back to class.

_Don't lie. Well at least it's partly to comfort her, you just wanted to see if her hand slid as perfectly into pace as her body ?..._

This is true. God, what's wrong with me…


	7. Chapter 7

Willows POV

The gentle caress of Peetas hand keeps my emotions at bay and I can feel my body relaxing into its regular state. My heartbeat is no longer in my ears, my breathing is even, and I can feel my face isn't as hot as before so I guess the redness and puffiness is also decreasing from my crying.

His touch is sending tiny electric shots down my arm into my chest, I welcome the feeling.

_Katniss…_ Her name echoes in my head as an unwanted, yet I suppose needed, reminder that this boy is not available. Peeta is in front of me holding my hand and pulling me through these unfamiliar halls. I stare at his broad shoulders and mass of blonde hair ruefully and then stare at our entwined hands, they fit together perfectly. His large coarse hands holding my petite ones protectively…

_Katniss… _Her name sounds in my head again.

I sigh deeply and Peeta turns slightly to look at me. I can see the concern in his eyes so I give him a small smile to let him know I'm fine and gaze around the hallway we are travelling through. I don't know why I feel like this or what this feeling is exactly. But I'm sure I'll get over it soon. I've never really had many friends where I was working with the animals so often and didn't attend school so maybe this is how you feel when a friend cares? Maybe.

I look down at our hands again when I see we are approaching the pale blue door of the Art room and I pull my hand from his grip. He stops and turns to me with I confused look adorning his face. _Cute…_

"You go ahead. I just need a few minutes alone before I go back in." I tell Peeta quietly.

I can see Peetas conflict about leaving me on my own. He looks at me with gentle eyes and a furrowed brow during his internal debate. I smile and touch his arm gently and his face softens. I reach my hand up to his face and smooth out his crinkled brow and he gives me a tiny chuckle. He looks me over once more and nods to himself.

"If you don't come in in ten minutes I'm coming out after you, capiche?" Peeta asks. I nod and smile as he enters the classroom, never breaking eye contact. Once he closed away behind the Art room door I let out a small giggle. I decide to walk for a little bit to clear my head and set off down a corridor when I hear voices, whispering heatedly. I don't know whether I should intervine or not so I lean against the wall and try to make myself as small as possible to listen in on the conversation.

Its Katniss.

"I'm doing what you said! You promised to leave him alone." Katniss says. _Is she talking about Peeta? What is she doing?..._

"Well I don't know what to say to you Katniss…He still plays too well according to the big guy. Sure not as well as before but it's not really good enough. If we can't break him emotionally, which you claimed would be easy by the way, he'll just have to be broken physically…" A surly voice replies. I can hear it's a guy shes talking to but he is much quieter than her, I can hardly hear the words.

_Why would they want to hurt the baker boy? Surely they are talking about someone else. Who could ever want to hurt Peeta?_

I strain my ears further to try and distinguish this boys voice. I don't know many people in this school yet but if I listen hard enough I may be able to match it later. Katniss speaks again.

"And what of _his _decision on Gale and Prim..." she asks softly yet full of disdain and hatred I am shocked. What could they be forcing her to do…?

"Actually he has taken quite a liking to Primrose. She is an asset in his eyes and he sees she could possibly bring more funding than first thought. She's in the clear; she also respects him as an authority figure so there's no need to bribe her, unlike you…"

_There's a third voice?! _This third person is female. She sounds younger than Katniss but her innocent voice is tainted with venom. I don't think I'll forget this voice. I hear Katniss let out a breath shed been holding. In relief perhaps?

"And Gale…?"Katniss begins in a small voice. Pity churns in my stomach for this girl. She sounds so broken. Nothing like this morning.

"Ah, Gale is not in the greenzone yet I'm afraid. Primrose is of use to the school body. Gale is not. He said its possible loverboy may meet an, um, unfortunate accident in the beginning of next years archery tournament if you're not careful." The spiteful girls voice pipes up. My blood begins to boil.

_How could she treat Peeta this way?! She doesn't even love him and she's stringing him along like he's a fucking toy! That pathetic… _

I stop myself mid rant and try to calm myself. I don't need to see her face to tell that she does not want to do whatever she's doing. I'm not even sure what they three are talking about. Peeta may be completely irrelevant to the conversation. _Deep breaths…Why am I getting so worked up over this guy…_

I hear a small clank, like someone has just been pushed against a locker.

"You know Katniss, there's no need to pretend. You may as well get something out of your little act. I could easily slide…" the boys snake like voice begins and I can feel my skin crawl.

Now is the time to intervene I think.

I stroll around the corner and feign a shocked expression for this party of three. I was right about someone being pushed against the locker. It was Katniss. The boy who had her pinned there is the guy from earlier, Cato is it? And the girl is definitely younger than us, by 2 years perhaps. But her bitter voice matches her hard features perfectly.

I clear my throat and speak gently. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I didn't know anyone who be out of class." I say walking up to the small group. Katniss gazes at me suspiciously with underlying gratitude. The small girl sneers and walks away from the scene and Cato just smirks. Now his features don't his voice at all. He is very handsome. He has a slightly darker shade of blonde hair to Peeta and more muscular. You can see he works hard for his body. He's dressed in designer gear from head to toe without a crease or piece of dirt on him, completely pristine. His face, despite the cold voice I heard before, is soft and deceitfully welcoming.

"I'm Willow"


	8. Chapter 8

**GiraffeMiss-Thank you very much! I really appreciate the comments **

Willows POV

Silence.

_Well this is awkward…_

Katniss looks at me then to Cato. "Yeah, I know who you are." She says dismissively once again. This time I pay more attention to her eyes and notice they aren't as cut off as they were earlier. I can see a bit of emotion seep through and I can instantly tell it's a front. I can also see how badly she wishes to get away from him from her posture. She's leaning back away from him and her whole body is tilting in the opposite direction to his, ready to run. I learned to read people quite well when living with my father…It allowed me to prepare myself for when he would come after me. A useful skill I suppose I should thank him for. I decide to play nice even with her tone. My heart constricts slightly thinking of his death…I push it aside quickly before the memory can take hold.

"Katniss right?" I say with a smile and she gives a short nod. I can feel the impatience radiating off her. An idea pops into my head to separate them. " Well I went for a wander to learn the layout of the school and I seem to have got myself lost" I say with a false laugh "Do either of you know the way back to Mr C's Art room?" I continue innocently. Cato speaks first.

"I'll do you one better, how about I walk you there?" he says.

_Wow…That warm voice was nothing like the icy tone I heard earlier...Was it really him? Did I miss someone walk away?..._

"OK, well I suppose I'll head back to class then.." Katniss says before she scurries away.

_Your welcome…_

"So…your name?" I ask putting my hand out to shake.

"I'm Cato." he says taking my hand and placing a kiss on it. _Oh…_ "You must be the new girl from 10 everyone is talking about."

"People are talking about me?" I say as he leads me to Cinnas class. I knew people were staring but talking?

"Yes, everybody's talking about the shy, pretty new girl who's just popped up. Now I understand slightly.." he states

"Understand what?" I ask curiously.

"Well I don't understand the shy part. You introduced yourself quite confidently back there" he begins " but the pretty I understand. It's been understated, your beautiful…" He finishes gently and I can feel my face heat up from my deep blush. These are totally mixed signals I'm getting from this guy. Earlier, just his look made my skin crawl and I'm pretty sure it could only have been his voice back there and it sent shivers up my spine…and not in a good way. Now he's all gentlemanly and accommodating…What the hell?!

_Hold off the judgements for now Will…Wait until you unravel the real Cato before you make decisions on him…_ I really do not like this feeling. Usually I can read people so well, yet here, in this stupid school my mind is all mucked up.

"You know there's only 20 minutes of class left. We could just skip it and I can give you a tour of the grounds…." Cato interrupts my train of thought. His tone tells me he has more to his mind than a tour… but then what teenage boy doesn't?

"As much as I could probably use a tour I don't think skipping class completely would leave me with a good impression on my first day." I say lightly, trying to let him down as easy as possible.

"But you have probably missed the whole lecture…Wouldn't walking in so late leave with an impression just as bad as not walking in at all?" He asks with a raised brow.

"Please… It's Art, how important could one lecture be? Besides I would feel bad…" I trail off as I see that blue door.

Time for an escape of my own.

"Ah, this is it. Thank you so much Cato!" I say with fake happiness. I'm so glad I learned to lie so well at home. Strange thing to be thankful, but I'm sure he would have seen straight through my charade otherwise…When I had to hide things from my mum…

_STOP! STOP RIGHT THERE! Talking about Father is one thing but Mum is a road we do NOT want to ride down right now…not here…not with Cato…_

I briefly close my eyes to gain my composure and breathe in through my nose, I exhale through my mouth and open my eyes and Cato is a little too close for comfort. Staring straight into my eyes. His eyes are also blue, but closed off, more shallow than Peetas…

_Why are you comparing Cato and Peeta again?..._

I talk a step back awkwardly to gain some of my free space back and I expertly control my face to not show any of the shock, or slight disgust, I feel from him leaning so close to me.

"Well, um, thanks for showing me back Cato" I say quickly. Ready to get out of this situation I've put myself into.

He takes my hand swiftly, before I have time to pull it back and he places a kiss on it. "See you later Willow. It was nice talking with you." Cato smirk as he turns to leave.

I wait till he walks out of sight before I shiver in distaste and rub the back of my hand on my Jeans. Now I just feel dirty…. How can he be so pleasant yet when he touches me I want to throw up?...Weird.

"Ew." I mumble, looking at my soiled hand as I step towards the door. Mid-step I bump into a large, hard, warm object. I let out surprised yelp and I gaze up only to look into a pair of sparkling, mirth filled aqua eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

**Guest- I think I like Peetas POV better too. I think it's because I already have knowledge of Peetas personality from the books and film and I'm making Willows up as the story goes.. Planning isn't my strong point so I just write what pops into my head, definitely and area to improve. Thank you for your comments though, I'm glad you're enjoying looking through Peetas eyes **

"Peeta! Jeez, you scared me! What are your doing standing in a fricking doorway?" I squeal, embarrassed for bumping into him.

"I said I would come look for you if you took too long" he states, fighting the smirk on his face. I narrow my eyes at him, daring him to comment.

"So…"he begins, and I naïvely believe that he is going to leave it alone. "Have a nice 'walk' with Cato?" he asks with a joyful sarcastic edge to his tone. I cringe slightly at the implication buried within his words. I'm pretty sure he notices.

_Play along, don't say anything about seeing Katniss… _My mind tells me.

"Actually yes" I say, straight-faced. "He was very, um, 'accommodating' showing me back to class." I continue, a small smile I can't hold back playing on the edges of my lips.

Peeta looks at me with wide eyes for a moment before his shocked features crumble into those of laughter. His deep chuckle vibrating though my body, filling me with warmth. He's contagious…

"That….had to have been…the…worst lie…in the history…of ever being told!" he chokes, tears in his eyes.

I can't help but laugh along with him. "It was not that funny Peeta! And I wasn't even trying to lie before you degrade my acting skills."

Peeta sobers up fairly quickly and asks if I was actually alright. "Well I can clearly see how much you care from you laughing at me" I mumble, looking past his stocky frame into the classroom. A huge grin spreads across my face at the sight I am privileged enough to see.

Finnick was right in my eyeline, standing on a short stool, expertly dressed as Poseidon and acting as a live model for one of the girls in the class. Peeta also turns to see what it is I am gazing at.

"Um…I can explain?" Peeta squeaks awkwardly. I laugh at his reaction, I have just arrived at this school and I can already see that this, right in front of me, confidently standing in a skimpy looking toga, is the real Finnick.

"Explain what? That we have a Greek God in our Art class?" I chuckle, brushing past him into the room for a better look. The backs of our hands brush and I try very hard to ignore the sensations this simple touch sends up my arms. I continue walking until I am behind the girl, looking directly into Finnicks eyes, a small smile playing on my lips.

"So, how's it going Neptune?" I ask. He gives me a small smirk, clearly trying not to change his position to much.

"You know, the usual. I'm trying really hard but each time a women gets a look at my huge spear here…they just get wet…" his smirk has turned into a full blown grin now by his own words. I smile and shake my head at him. _I doubt I'll ever be as quick as him with my comebacks…_

"HAHAHA! Really Finn, that's what you're giving the new girl. You're a disaster Finnick, truly. Would you please move tubs, your blocking my light…" the girl says.

_Tubs…Wow. Ain't that original…_I look over her shoulder to her sketch book and see this girls name is Johanna Mason. I get I'm not that skinny so I see no reason to be offended. I glance at Peeta and can see he's angry, I'm give him a confused smile in question and I just see him shake his head. I look back at Fin and see he is also frowning at Johanna.

"Well I suppose I should do something this lesson, so I'll let Ms Originality get back to you Poisidon" patting Johannas shoulder and turning to leave for a sketch book. As I walk away I hear her chuckle and say "I think I like her" which leaves a smile on my face.

My first task is to draw a natural landscape which holds memories. I have seen some of the most beautiful fields and meadows but none of them hold any dear memories. So I decide to draw one which holds a dear person to me. I sit at my desk with the sketch book Cinna gave me and begin to trace the scene delicately at first, taking my time to sketch the simpler shapes. I've never been amazing at art, I could draw but they were never realistic or anything, I only really drew when I was bored. But this place…this scene needed to be perfect. Once the soft outline was complete I began to draw the meadow where my parents were now buried. I started with the tree that overlooked their graves, making sure to give the bark dark, coarse details.

The bell rang and I closed my sketch book with a sigh and placed it in my bag. I turned to leave my seat and nearly jumped out of my skin when I came face to face with Peeta.

_How long has he been sitting there?... _I wondered idly.

"I didn't mean to startle you" he said softly with a smile, I just smirked back and got out of my seat.

"I don't suppose you know where Ms Trinkets Humanities class is?" I ask hopefully, not really wanting to bump into Cato again. Before he has a chance to reply Finnick comes up behind him with surprising grace and clamps his hand down on his shoulder.

"Yes he does. But it so happens that this is also my next class. Care to walk with me?" he asks with a dashing smile.

"I am perfectly capable of taking her Finnick…" Peeta protests. "I know, but you're in Maths which is the opposite direction so there's no point, besides I am also 'perfectly capable'…of many things" he finishes, turning to wink. I laugh at his behaviour and gently punch his arm.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves ey?" I chuckle. "Thanks anyway Peeta but he's right, there's no need for you to be late for lesson is I'm in his class anyway" I look into his and reach out to gently squeeze his wrist to voice my thanks for earlier too. He gave me a small smile in return, sincere but not quite reaching his eyes. I let go and tug on Finnicks shirt. "Come on then Romeo, lead the way."


	10. Chapter 10

**Smurfflynn- Thank you so much :) I really appreciate it x**

Peetas POV:

I lead us back to Cinnas classroom quietly, not really paying attention to where I was going. I didn't need too. I was in that room so often my feet could take me there on their own, as if detached from my brain. Instead, all I can think of is the feel of her soft hand in mine. Years of helping my father at the bakery have left my hands rough and hard, a huge contrast to her smooth delicate hands. I know I need to stop these thoughts before they develop further, I mean I finally have Katniss, the girl I have always loved. Haven't I? But it's so difficult not to think about her. Her shining, multi-coloured eyes, her sun-kissed skin, her curvy hips, the way her jeans hugged her thighs…

I bite back a groan and force myself to take a deep breath, hoping she noticed no falter in my movements as I discreetly adjust myself. Thoughts like that just aren't appropriate, not only would it be incredibly embarrassing to sport a raging hard on in the middle of school, the thoughts are about the wrong girl… I'm betraying Katniss thinking like this.

_Well it's not like she wouldn't do the same to you….Cato….Gale…Marvel…_

Woah! Stop! Why can't my mind just be on my side? Why does… I'm brought out of my inner scolding from losing the warmth of her touch. My heart races slightly from the loss as I turn to her, questioning her with my eyes.

"You go ahead. I just need a few minutes alone before I go back in." Willow says quietly.

I don't want to leave her on her own after that breakdown. Cinna said take as much time as we need, so maybe I should just stay with her? But maybe she just doesn't want to be near me? My thoughts turn sour as I think maybe I wasn't as covert as I thought when adjusting my 'problem'. What if she thinks I'm a creep? Or pervert? What if..? Again she breaks me out of my paranoid ramblings by gently laying her arm on mine. Her face is calm and graces a sweet smile and I can feel myself begin to relax. I'm slightly shocked when she reaches up to my face and gently strokes away my frown lines, my heart constricts and I can't help but chuckle as the cuteness of the gesture. I look over her face once more. She just wants alone time, isn't that something i usually want when i break down? I nod to myself, ending the internal debate, feeling calmer.

"If you don't come in in ten minutes I'm coming out after you, capiche?" I tell her, mock authority in my tone. She simply nods and smiles at me in return. I look behind me and notice we are outside the Art room. I turn back to Willow, never breaking eye contact as I back up towards the room. Those beautiful eyes were like a drug to me, a spell I couldn't break free of until I closed the Art room door. I pressed my back against the door as it closed, trying to gather my thoughts when I heard a quiet giggle emit frim the other side. I felt the small smile that had already placed itself on my lips broaden into a grin as I looked towards the floor. I looked up as I pushed myself from the door and met eyes with a smiling Cinna and I found myself blushing under his probing gaze.

"She, um, needed a little time alone to, um, gather herself before coming back in…" I stutter, not meeting Cinnas eyes.

"Uh huh…" was his only reply. I could practically hear the smile in his grunt and heard him chortle as he walked away from me. I looked around, trying to spot Finnick. I had to do a double take at what stood directly in front of me.

"What the fuck are you wearing? Dude! Put it away please!" Heat remaining on my face in barely contained laughter. Finnick was bending over in a tiny toga with a three pronged spear, leaving very little to the imagination. He stood up, with a tiny stool and beamed at me.

"What? You intimidated my boy?" he smirked as he walked the stool over to Johanna. He placed the stool in front of her and stood on it proudly as she decorated and adjusted him into a position she was happy with.

"Jo…What are you doing with my friend? Why is he in a skirt?" I ask loud enough for Fin to hear, small smirk on my lips. "Actually! It's a toga Peeta, pay some damn attention in history" he interjected. "My bad Fin, but even so, you look very pretty in your dress" I said, moving to bat my eyelashes at him. He just laughed at me as Johanna told me to get out the way. Obediently I moved, remembering how last time she threw the paint palette at my head when I took too long.

"Seriously though, jokes aside, what are you doing?" I ask as I move to stand behind her, watching her as she traces some unusual shapes lightly onto the canvas. Johanna didn't like art, just enjoyed us being in the class, so she didn't usually try this hard to do something.

"Well I decided to do Mr Speedo swimwear here as Poseidon. May as well get something out of that mug of his" Her words were harsh, but those who knew her could hear the affection she held behind them. I placed myself on the desk near Johanna and retrieved my sketchbook and began to do my own work. I wasn't really paying much attention to what I was sketching I was thinking more of Willows timid smile and husky voice than the flows of my lines. Jo broke me out of my daze when she appeared behind me.

"So, you have the hots for the new girl" she states knowingly.

"What?! Why would you think that? I finally have Katniss now Jo and I'm happy. Willow is a friend" I say, convincing myself more than her.

"Uh huh. Well, I have been your friend for years now Peet. You always liked the idea of Katniss, not her. She was different and closed off. You wanted to help her open up more than be with her. You just got confused along the way" Jo said quietly, a tone I don't often hear leaking itself into her words, slightly maternal. "Besides, even when you were pining over Katniss, not once did you draw her, consciously or otherwise" were Jo's final words before she went back to a confused Finnick. I sat there for a moment mulling over what she said. Was she right about Katniss? And what did she mean about that last part? I looked at the clock and saw 15 minutes had past, so I rose from my chair and headed for the door.

"I won't be long" I called to Finnick and Jo as I opened the door.

Fire burns in my veins as I see Cato kiss Willows hand. He tries to take Katniss and now Willow too?! I restrain myself from punching him in his slimey face as he turns to leave, neither of them noticing me there. As he turns the corner I see Willow shiver and wipe her hand on her jeans, a revolted look plastered on her face. I can't help but smile at her reaction, my heart inflating slightly at her disgust. She is still looking down as she walks towards the door frame where I am currently standing. I decide not to move though, smiling at her distraction at her hand. She bumps against me, a surge of heat filling me as her body presses against mine. I smile down at her confused face before recognition flashes in her eyes. The heat in my body only increases as she smiles back at me.

I never felt like this with Katniss…could Jo be right?

**I may do a Finnick or Johanna perspective of this scene. A little outside view of the exchange… what do you think?**


	11. Chapter 11

***Peers from behind door* you still there? Sorry for such a long update. Time just slipped through my fingers and I got caught up in my other story. Again sorry.**

**Smurfflynn- Im glad you agree :)**

**Sorry about spelling mistakes for those with OCD. I do read through it but they escape me sometimes. Need to find someone to read through them instead really.**

**I'm going to do a Finnick and Johanna view now just for a bit of insight. As I said before it come from my head as I type. Hope it turns out ok *crosses fingers* Penny for your thoughts?**

"Why are you such an idiot" Johanna chuckled, elbowing her friend in the ribs. Finnick turned his back to the new girl and Peeta and gave Jo a lopsided smirk.

"I'm not an idiot, I'm charming" He says absolutely.

"Yeah, yeah. Go find your toga while I sort out my crap." Jo mumbled, reaching into her bag for her canvas plan.

"Tell me again why I'm doing this. I mean I get why me, look at me, I'm adorable, but since when do you actually plan and, well, do anything in Art?" Finnick inquired. His curiosity flaring. In reality he didn't want to wear the stupid dress, but he would for his friend.

"Aunts birthday soon. She's decorating again and she keeps saying she needs something for a wall. So I'm gonna paint her something as a gift." Johanna says, a slight blush gracing her face. Finnick looked down at his quirky friend. He lived it when this side of Jo showed, it didn't happen often openly but it always brought a smile to his face. Seeing she was embarrassed Finnick decided to make her laugh.

"I just think you want to look up my skirt…" he quipped, pulling the toga from his bag and strutting away, smiling at Jo's chuckle. Johanna watched Finnick as he walked away. She knew what he was doing, and she loved him for it. How did she deserve a friend like him? Wiping the smile from her face she gathered her supplies and set everything up in the corner by the door. Just waiting on Fin now.

Sitting at her stool she looked over at Peeta. Johanna couldn't get around he relationship with that succubus Katniss. She watched on as the life drained from Peetas face each time he was with her. She mentally notes the differences; he's a lot more paranoid of things now, she has broken his trust so he questions everything, where he used to openly joke with her and Finnick he is more subdued and quiet when she's nearby. It's sad to watch, but she can't help him. He has such a big heart and he's so kind and forgiving. But he's also incredibly stubborn. She could hint, imply and even outright say on occasion, but it's something he needs to learn on his own.

Jo looks at Peeta and notices something different on his face. In this class he's usually sad or contemplative and withdrawn, engrossed in his work. But right now he is doing nothing. Staring at the girl next to him looking…Content? A small smile is gracing his lips as she speaks to Cinna and she can't stop the smile that falls on her lips too. Johanna has never seen him look at anyone that way, though she recognises it herself. It's the look that her aunt and uncle give each other when she's sitting at the table. A look she aspires to share with someone one day.

_So, its this girl huh…we'll see._

Jo returns from her thoughts and finds the scene infront of her looks drastically different. Instead of the sweet smile on Peetas face, it has been replaced by a worried frown, a pained look that she recognises. How she wished she knew what caused him to look like that…she'd kill it then hang it by its toes. Johanna moves her head slightly to scowl at the girl that caused that look on his face, only to be surprised again and see the girls form has gone rigid.

_I wonder whats up…?_ Jo thought idly.

She watched in silence and Peeta pulls her from the seat and guides her out the room conspicuously. He is so gentle with her, like she was a delicate flower, the concern still visible in his eyes. Jo doesn't take her eyes away from the scene. It was so sad, yet actually quite beautiful. She waits in silence for Finnick, deciding to say nothing of the event. But she couldn't help but wonder if the girl from 10 will be the one to finally make Peeta, well, Peeta again.

She is broken out of her reverie when a muscular leg appears on her lap. She meets the eyes of a cocky Finnick. "Like what you see?" he says twirling for Jo. She just laughed as she dragged him to a stool and positioned him how she wanted. "Yes. You're stunning Finnick. Now stay still" Johanna said, lightly tracing the image and becoming engrossed in the gift. Finnick complied, liking how Jo was finally committed to something. Johanna was a good student on average. She had a short temper most of the time and was often sent out of rooms, but her grades were good so she was never suspended for her language or fights. She just didn't really have a passion for anything, he would help her find it though, gradually.

Finnick let his mind wander to the new girl. She was beautiful, in a wholesome kind of way. He couldn't deny he was attracted to her but many of the guys he spoke to today that had seen her said the same thing. But that's not what made him think of her, it was Peeta. He had watched Peeta go over to Delly and the girl and he had seen the way that his eyes sparkled. Peeta deserves only the best and he had never seen him look at anyone like that before. It was like he practically glowed in her presence. Finnick had watched the encounter and the short banter at their table. Peeta, although nervous at first, was confident and slightly flirtatious at their table. He thought about when he spoke out during class and the looks that Peeta sent his way. He doubted that Peet even realised the possessive vibe he was sending, but he'd soon find out.

Finnick thought back to when Peeta admitted he liked Katniss, well 'loved'. He felt that their failed relationship was somewhat his fault. He could tell that the feelings were superficial on her behalf, although he still can't figure out why. He should have tried to dissuade Peeta for pursuing it, he was in love with the idea of love, not her. But he just stood by and now his friend was a shadow of his buoyant-self. If this Willow can bring him out of his shell the way she did today, well, they'd be spending a lot more time with each other that's for sure.

The click of someone opening the door made both Finnck and Jo turn their heads towards it. There they saw Willow and Peeta talking in hushed tones. They turned and looked at eachother in question, small smirks placed on both their faces as they turn back to the scene, watching as Peeta lent back against the shut door. A warm smile playing on his lips. Finnick and Jo look at each other, silently sharing the same thoughts as they carry on with Jos painting.

Willow will fix him.

"What the fuck are you wearing? Dude! Put it away please!" Peeta cried. Finnick turned slightly to see a red faced, smiling Peeta walking towards him. Finnick grabbed a nearby stool that Jo gestured to and positioned himself on it. He stood a little taller and puffed out his chest at Peeta.

"What? You intimidated my boy?" Finnick said, smiling at the playful Peet he has come to love. Jo rolled her eyes at the two as she got up to fix the way Finnick was standing. "Jo…What are you doing with my friend? Why is he in a skirt?" Peeta asked her in a mock whisper. She smirked at him with a raised eyebrow. However before she could reply Finnick intervened…. "Actually! It's a toga Peeta, pay some damn attention in history" He said, sulking slightly, pouting for dramatic effect.

"My bad Fin, but even so, you look very pretty in your dress" Peeta replied, batting his eyes and playing damsel for Finnick. Fin laughed at his friend, he had missed this side of him. How could one encounter cause this much of a change. Finnick was enjoying it now but he was sure it would be a one step forward, two steps back scenario with Katniss in the picture.

"Move douche" Jo said, politely obviously. Peeta did as he was told before he asked "Seriously though, jokes aside, what are you doing?" Jo didn't look up from her image but gestured with her arms to Finnick. "Well I decided to do Mr Speedo swimwear here as Poseidon. May as well get something out of that mug of his" Not ready to tell him why when people where around. If he asked she would but otherwise she saw no need. She watched him move to the desk near them and pull out his sketch items. She looked at Finnick, silently asking if it was ok for her to step out for a sec, since he was standing there like a good boy for her. Finnick tilted his head toward Peeta as confirmation. She rose from her stool smiling at him and walked behind Peeta quietly. She looked at his face, a dazed look in his eyes, she didn't think he was even aware of what he was sketching. Jo decided to see what it transformed into. His lines and shading were so precise and beautiful, even when he wasn't paying attention, a sense of pride filled her as she watched him continue. The sketch began to take a form that she could recognise, it was Willow. The elegant slope of her neck, the roundness of her face, however the most definition seemed to be on her eyes.

This was it for him then. It was her.

She recalled the stories of her aunt and uncle and the tales they told of being in love, so to her this was clear as day. If Willow was good enough for him, Jo would help it happen. Otherwise she may just punch Peeta for being so stupid…

"So, you have the hots for the new girl" Jo said, unable to keep the slight know-it-all tone out of her voice. Peeta jumped from his dazed state, making Jo internally smile.

"What?! Why would you think that? I finally have Katniss now Jo and I'm happy. Willow is a friend" Peeta stuttered out unconvincingly.

Rolling her eyes Johanna replied "Uh huh. Well, I have been your friend for years now Peet. You always liked the idea of Katniss, not her. She was different and closed off. You wanted to help her open up more than be with her. You just got confused along the way" Jo was looking into Peeta eyes, trying to convey how much she wanted him to understand. . "Besides, even when you were pining over Katniss, not once did you draw her, consciously or otherwise" She added as she walked away.

Finnick watched the scene in confusion but he would ask Jo about it later. He looked at Peetas face and the emotions that passed through it, feeling sad that his friend questions everything he feels. Peeta suddenly looked at the clock and quickly headed to the door, calling out "I won't be long" behind him, Finnicks eyes following him the entire time. He watched as Peeta opened the door only to stop abruptly. Finnick peered past his form and saw Cato kissing a clearly uncomfortable Willows hand.

Is that why Peeta looks so angry? Fin watched as Cato walking away, seeing Willow cringe at the fake sentiment caused him to chuckle despite himself. Willow bumped into Peeta and Finnick watched Willows face light up at the contact.

Now that is exactly what he wanted to see…

Finnick looked away as they began talking, not wanting to be caught staring at them.

"That….had to have been…the…worst lie…in the history…of ever being told!" Jo and Finnick hear their friend say through a round of laughter. They each smile but do not move to look at them.

A more feminine laugh joins in wholeheartedly. . "It was not that funny Peeta! And I wasn't even trying to lie before you degrade my acting skills." Willow said, a mild chastising tone to her voice.

"I'm sorry. Are you ok though?" Peeta questions, smile clear through his voice.

"Well I can clearly see how much you care from you laughing at me" Willow mumbles, clearly playing with him. Finnick loves the fact she playing along with him, rather than berating him for being 'childish' or 'embarrassing'.

He didn't hear her approach, which is strange for him, usually he always knows when someone is near him. "So, how's it going Neptune?" He heard Willow ask in a mirth filled voice. He smirked at her attempt of banter. A line came into his heard, it was bad and actually wasn't at all relevant to the question but he just felt like it had to be said.

"You know, the usual. I'm trying really hard but each time a women gets a look at my huge spear here…they just get wet…" Finnick fist bumped himself mentally for getting it out so well. However his ego deflated slight as Jo started to laugh at him.

"HAHAHA! Really Finn, that's what you're giving the new girl. You're a disaster Finnick, truly. Would you please move tubs, your blocking my light…" Jo says , not looking up, but wanting to get a feel for her reaction. Katniss would have a hissy fit and demand she never be spoken to again. If she's too touchy and fragile, then she's not the one for her Peeta. Also he didn't want to see the disapproving or angry looks she is undoubtedly getting from her two best friends.

"Well I suppose I should do something this lesson, so I'll let Ms Originality get back to you Poisidon" Willow said, actually patting Jo on the shoulder. No tears, No strop, just a quip and walking away. Huh.

Johanna couldn't stop the small chuckle that left her mouth. "I think I like her".

Finnick, although not agreeing to the methods she used, understood that this is the way Jo gets her feel of people and smiled slightly on hearing her admission. He watched Peeta walk away and take a seat near Willow, watching her with gentle eyes as she worked.

"Stop looking" Jo said sharply, throwing a paper ball at his face.

"But it's so sweet…" Finnick said. Jo smiled at her friend. His rouge, boyish attitude was just a front for that romantic gentleman she knew was inside.

"Stop being such a girl. I want to paint a manly god, not a pansy." Jo replied softly, letting him know through her voice that she agreed with his assessment. Smiling once more at his friend, Finnick did as he was told.

A few minutes before the bell, Johanna let Finnick go change into his regular clothes as she put away her bits and pieces. As he returned to the room he watched Willow and Peeta come face to face, merely inches apart.

_If this were a movie, he'd kiss her right now._ He thought to himself

"I didn't mean to startle you" he said softly, looking into her eyes with a warm smile.

_Are you freaking serious?! I can't deal with this cheese. Intervention time!_ Finnick though as he watched her blush. It was a perfect movie screen scenario, and they don't know each other properly yet, this could only get worse the closer they become. Finnick made his way over to the pair, sights set on teasing Peeta.

"I don't suppose you know where Ms Trinkets Humanities class is?" she asks him. Finnick sees this opportunity and takes it.

"Yes he does. But it so happens that this is also my next class. Care to walk with me?" He said, giving her his most dashing smile which she giggles at. Seeing this Peeta tries to steal her attention away again, taking Finnicks bait. "I am perfectly capable of taking her Finnick…" Peeta protests.

"I know, but you're in Maths which is the opposite direction so there's no point, besides I am also 'perfectly capable'…of many things" Finnick implied, looking at Willows, amused face, giving her a wink for good measure. He's glad she hasn't taken the bait and actually swooned like various others, because if she tried it on him, right now, he's ashamed to say he wouldn't say no.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves ey?" She chuckles, smacking Finnick lightly on the arm. "Thanks anyway Peeta but he's right, there's no need for you to be late for lesson is I'm in his class anyway" Finnick watches as she reaches out and squeeze's his wrist. He stares between the two as they seem to convey an entire conversation through only their eyes. He notices how Peetas face, which had a look of dejection on a second ago, turns into an easy smile at her touch.

I feel a tug on my shirt and look down to see Willow dragging my away from the door. I smile at her easiness to be around. "Come on then Romeo, lead the way."

I agree with Jo. I think I like her too.


End file.
